Just in time for Christmas we have a living room finished. I can’t use the term completed as I know there will be constant adjustments, paint and additional trim work required as we live in the space and need to make changes. But for now it is good to say that another room in the house is finished.
Gretchen’s design from Mosaic Architecture indicated the see through room divider and I really like how it turned out. The living room area is set off clearly for conversation, relaxing and just sitting-by-the-fire kind of place. The divider is a visual screen to the desks and media area. We have a not very attractive large brown lazyboy recliner in the media area that is great for watching movies. It is much less noticeable now that the book shelves and living room furniture are in place.
Built into the bookshelf/room divider is a nook just the right size for an antique love seat. Rumor has it that this particular piece of furniture was hand made in North Dakota and was one of the first pieces of furniture in my parents home. If it was made new as a wedding gift for my parents it is over 80 years old. It came as a gift from an aunt and uncle on my mother’s side of the family and if it was a family piece handed down then it could easily be over a hundred years old now.
The love seat has been through tough use and some abuse over the years. In 1995 I was serving congregations in rural North Dakota and one of the members was a furniture maker. I brought the love seat to Sherman to see if he thought it was worth repairing. He told me to leave with him and he would take a look at it. Not long after he called to say I could come and pick up my love seat from his shop. When I arrived, I saw a like new piece of furniture. He had hand carved detailed parts to fill in and repair. Since he was doing such a great job on the refinishing, his wife found a nice piece of upholstery fabric and reupholstered the seat at the same time. It has become a favorite piece of historical furniture in our home, both created and restored in North Dakota and now finding its home in Montana.
